Abstract:

Offering students at the Engineering Faculty of Bilbao (University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU) the possibility of carrying out their Final Degree Project (TFG) within the framework of funded research projects offers students the possibility of developing a series of personal and professional competences of great value and usefulness for their professional future. Specifically, within the framework of this work, a student was incorporated into a project funded by the Directorate for Sustainability and Social Commitment (UPV/EHU) within a research group consolidated by the Basque Government to carry out a pilot test. The aim of the project was to minimize the generation of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) produced at the university itself. One of the peculiarities of this project is its transdisciplinary and collaborative nature, through the participation of different groups - students, teaching staff and laboratory technicians - in pursuit of a more sustainable university. Consequently, the management and reduction of WEEE waste production is in line with the principles set out in SDG 12, responsible production and consumption.

Joining a project of this magnitude has allowed the student to carry out her TFG on a topical subject, requiring her to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity and problems surrounding the generation, management and treatment of WEEE waste, through the acquisition of knowledge in its management, in the application of different recycling methods and in the treatment of this waste by means of experimental tests in the laboratory. This has promoted on the student the development of the following competences: autonomy in work, critical thinking, teamwork, social and environmental commitment, and technological innovation in the treatment of this waste. Coordinated teamwork, through meetings, presentations and discussion of the results, made it possible to achieve the milestones of this project. All of this has allowed the student to learn first-hand the working methodology used in research, which is very useful for her incorporation into her professional life. Consequently, the participation of the student in this project will be of particular importance in the long term in her professional career, as it has been carried out at a time when she is about to graduate and already has all the technical and specific knowledge acquired during the Degree in Environmental Engineering.

Keywords:

Active learning, sustainability, high education.